.png)
Who We Are
At the core of our mission, B’nai Or of Boston is dedicated to renewing Jewish spiritual practice through powerful rituals, meaningful study, and responsible social action. We are a diverse community that engages with sacredness in various ways: prayer, meditation, and theological inquiry. We accept every individual’s comfort zone in connecting with the concept of Divinity. Whether one believes (or not) in the God of Torah, The Holy One Blessed Be He/She, or Shechinah – or a blending of all of it – we engage in sacred time and space together.
Guiding Values
Prayer
We strive to have an understanding of the meaning and relevance of traditional prayer, while holding an excitement around connecting with Divinity through heart-centered, personal prayer and contemplative practices, such as mindfulness and meditation.
Loving-Kindness
We believe that acts of chesed towards others and the earth is the glue that strengthens and sustains community. We are there for each other through the peaks and valleys of life: soup when you’re sick; celebration in moments of joy; a chain of presence & compassion in bereavement. You can find the emails for our Chessed liason team and Bereavement coordinator HERE.
Earth-Based Judaism
We emphasize our tradition’s ancient rituals that connect us to the cycles of seasons, while also practicing eco-kashrut – an attempt to marry Torah values with a holistic awareness of the times in which we live and how we can better care for the more-than-human world. (Our participation in actions against climate change have included lobby days at the Massachusetts State house, attendance at marches, and writing postcards to state legislators.)
Inclusivity
We welcome all seekers to participate in our community. The B'nai Or membership embraces a wide diversity of beliefs.
Social Action
We see tikkun olam ("repairing the world") as central to our spiritual lives. The origin of this phrase is found in the mystical story of God creating the world by inserting light into vessels, which then shattered and sent shards flying into the universe. Our work of tikkun olam is to uplift these shards and help the broken become whole again.